This is a tough time to be a kid in our society. Adults are behaving badly everywhere, from the nightly news to the holiday dinner table. Anger has become the go-to dialect of choice in politics and infiltrates our living rooms and our minds—including those little minds that are playing with their trucks under the coffee table during 60 Minutes. Righteous indignation is the new patriotism. Everyone is upset about something.

And the kids are watching.

Kids sense anger long before they know how to process it. When the adults in the room contort their faces and voice their frustration back at the TV or angry Uncle Fred interjects his typical rant about (fill in the blank), young kids perk up their ears. They will hear the disturbing tones of voice. They may feel a vague, frightening sense that the world is not safe. It can unsettle them in a way they cannot fully process much less express.

Relate your political choices to your own values. It can be a significant challenge for parents to rise above our own political opinions and shift to a more values-centered conversation with our kids. But that is what they need. If we believe in the dignity of all people, then we talk about voting for candidates that care about those less fortunate than us. If we are committed to protecting our environment, then we will choose a candidate who will support that. This teaches our children not only what our values are, but how to translate that into action. And we haven’t even mentioned the name of a candidate.

Be the adult. As is true of so many parental duties, we have to be our best selves regardless of our political leanings. When emotions are running high and anger is simmering among the adults, it is........

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